This Year's Oscars

I have seen all of the films nominated for the Best Picture Oscar this year except Toy Story III. I am going to rank them roughly in the order that I liked them. I am dividing them into three groups. The first four are my favorites, and I could go for anyone of these to win. The second four I liked, but I wouldn't pick them for best picture. The last one is the only one that I would not have nominated.

Group I

1. Black Swan - I put off going to see this film, because from the previews I was not sure that I would like it. When a film is billed as a psycho-sexual drama, you can't be sure what you are going to get. But it is in fact a very intense psycho-sexual drama, and Natalie Portman does give an Oscar worthy performance. As did Winona Ryder, Barbara Hershey and Mila Kunis, who I have liked since she was on That 70's Show. I think what I liked best about the film is that even when the film is over you still don't know what was supposed to have really happened, what was drug induced hallucinations, and what was just plain insanity.



2. True Grit - This film was just plain enjoyable to watch. I don't think the Coen Brothers could make a bad film. Using a soundtrack that was based on old hymns really set the right tone for the film, and how could you end a film any better that with Iris Dement singing "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms".



3. The Social Network - It may well be that this film does not give a totally accurate depiction of how Facebook was created. That does not detract from the fact that it is a great script, with excellent acting. Some people thought that Mark Zuckerberg was portrayed as an ass in the film, but I thought the character come off as very human.



4. Inception - I do think that Christopher Nolan deserves the Best Director award for taking such a complicated and convoluted story, and making a comprehensible film out of it. Alas, this is not to be, since he was not even nominated for Best Director. You have to work to follow what is happening in the film, but it is worth it. I think this is a film that you would have to see at least twice to fully appreciate.



Group II

5. The Kids are All Right - This film is too silly to be considered a drama, and too serious to be considered a comedy. Still it has an amazingly well written script, and who would have guessed that Annette Bening would have made such a great lesbian? Probably not Warren Beatty.



6. 127 Hours - Making a film about someone stuck in the middle of no where for days does not, on the face of it, seem like a great idea, but this film works. James Franco carries off the long parts of the film that he does alone. I would give this film the Best Editing Oscar. The way the sequences of the film were put together really helps to make the film interesting. Most of the buzz about the film centered on the number of people who passed out when Franco's character cuts his arm off with a very dull pen knife. I have to say there are parts of the film that are uncomfortable to watch, and someone did apparently pass out in the screening I attended. At least there was a big commotion in the theater about something, shortly after the critical scene, and there was an ambulance outside when I left. That aside it's a great film with beautiful scenery.



7. The King's Speech - I liked this film. Both Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush do give two of the best performances of the year, as King George and his speech therapist. Who else but Helena Bonham Carter could play both Red Queen from Alice in Wonderland and the Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mum, before she was the Queen Mum. I would not give it Best Picture because the story is a little too focused on the King's speech impediment, which is not a criticism, but I think Best Picture should go to a Big Picture.



8. Winter's Bone - The story of a young girl trying to save her family from a drug ravaged society in the Ozark Mountains, this is probably the least commercial film nominated this year. Probably one of the least commercial films ever nominated. Peopled with a cast of unpleasant characters, it still tells a compelling story. This is probably a film that no one from the Ozarks would want to see, because the society it portrays is so unpleasant. All the same, it has some of the best acting of the year, and deserves the nomination just for that.



Group III

9 The Fighter - This is the only film nominated that I had trouble with. I do think the acting was good, but taken as a whole I think it went over the top. I had trouble seeing how Mark Wahlberg's character could possibly have come out of the dysfunctional family created by Christian Bale, Melissa Leo, and the six harpy sisters from hell. I wouldn't want to believe that one family could have so many self-centered, screwed up people in it. Of course, I say that having just said that Winter's Bone was a good film, and on this account it was not far behind.